Snow-shovel



(No Model.)

J. GIPF O R D. SNOW SHOVEL.

la-606,5 4. Patented June 28, 1898..

- with my invention.

I UNITED STATES PATENT 7 Erica.

JOHN GIFFORD, OF WATERTOWVN, NEW YORK.

SNOW-SHOVEL.

\ SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 606,534, dated June 28, 1898.

I Application filed August 9, 1897. Serial No. 647,628. (No model.) A I To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN GIFFORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Watertown, in the county of Jefferson and State of New York, have invented a new and useful to and supported by a suitable frame, formed,

preferably, of Wood and wire, a wooden handle secured to'the blade,and an auxiliary handgrip adjustably supported on the handle.

With these objects in view the invention consists of the several details of construction and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described ,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a snow-shovel made in accordance Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the shovel, a portion of the blade and the handle being broken away. Fig. 3 is a section on the linewccof Fig. 2 inverted. Fig. 4 is a side elevation .of a portion of the handle and the auxiliary hand-grip on an enlarged scale. Fig. 5 is avertical longitudinal section of Fig. 4, showing the hand-grip folded down.

Similar reference-numerals indicate similar parts in the several figures.

In carrying out my invention I provide a supporting-frame for the blade, comprising three parallel bars of wood, indicated, respectively, by the numerals 1, 2, and3, connected at their ends bythe side wires 4. These wires will preferably be secured to the bars by clips 5., although they may be secured to them in any other suitable manner. The wires are curved and the wooden strips are of unequal length in order to give the blade the proper conformation, and the front edge of the forward bar 1 is beveled, as indicated at o.

- 7 indicates a sheet'of metal, preferably galvanized steel, fitted over the upper face of the frame, and the front or lower portion of this sheet is folded over the lower face of the front I bar 1 and also over its rear edge and is soldered to thei main portion of the sheet, asindicated at 9. The side edge portions 10 are also folded over upon the wires 4 and the ends of the wooden bars, and the upper or rear edge portion 11 is folded over upon the rear bar 3 and preferably secured in place by a series of rivets 12;

13 indicates a loop formed of a strip of metal bent upon itself and fitted over the front edge of the metal sheet 7, and this loop forms a shoe for the tapering front end abutting against the rear edge of the bar 1 of the handle 14:, said end fitting between the under face of the metal sheet 7 and the lower member of the loop and being secured in place by a series of rivets 15, which pass through the sheet 7, the handle, and both members of the loop 13.

16 indicates a strip, preferably of hardened steel, which is firmly secured to the lower face of the metal sheet 7 by'a series of rivets, and projects forwardly beyond said sheet and has its front edge beveled, as indicated In order to prevent any abrupt shoulder, solder may be run on the upper face of the strip 16, immediately in front of the folded edge of the metal sheet 7, as indicated at 20.

The handle 14 is curved at its forward end to correspond to the contour of the blade and is provided with a recess 19 to receive the middle bar 2. The handle is firmly secured to the blade by a series of rivets or other similar suitable securing devices.

grip 22 is secured in the usual manner.

23 indicates a strip of wood secured on the upper face of the blade at its rear edge by rivets 24 or other similar fastening devices.

25 indicates the auxiliary l1and-grip,which is secured between the outer ends of spaced arms 26 of a supporting-frame,which is formed from astrip of metal bent to form the rectangular U -shaped portion 27, from which the arms 26 are curved outwardly and upwardly. 28 indicatesa U-shaped slide to fit snugly on the handle, the arms 29 of which project above the upper face of the handle, and between these arms the U-shaped portion 27 of the hand-grip frame is eccentrically pivoted on a pin 30, the said pin being secured in said arms 29 near their front edges. are provided with slots 31 in their rear edges, and the U-shaped part 27 of the hand-grip frame is provided with similar slots 32 in its The upper or rear end of the handle is split to form a for]: "21', between the members of which the hand- The arms 29 rear edges, and when the hand-grip frame is in a vertical position the slots 31 and S) will register.

Between the lower face of the U-shaped part 27 of the hand-grip frame and the upper face of the handle a spring 33 is loosely fitted, the said spring being formed from a strip of spring metal bent to give it the desired form. The spring 33 comprises the straight portion 3;, the upwardly-disposed loop 35, the straight portion 36, which is parallel to the straight portion 3t, and the loop 37, which is vertically disposed and substantially parallel to the loop 39 indicates a pin which is in the loop 37.

The U-shaped part 537 of the handgrip frame is supported by the straight part 36 of the spring between the loops 35 and 37, and when the hand-grip frame is in a vertical position the spring can be pushed forwardly below it until the pin 39 engages in the registering slots 31 and 32, when the hand-grip will be locked in its vertical position. By moving the spring rearwardly to disengage the pin 39 from the slots 31 and b the handgrip can be folded down, as indicated in Fig. 4. As the handgrip is pivoted in advance of its vertical center, it is obvious that when it is gripped to lift the blade it will natu rally swing to the rear and the U shaped portion of the hand-grip frame will bear at its rear edge upon the spring 33 and force it down into close contact with the handle, and the downwardly-curved end SI of the spring will bite into the handle and prevent the hand-grip from slipping rearwardly on the handle. The hand-grip can be easily and quickly adjusted to any part of the handle to bring it in proper position for use with either a heavy or light weight on the shovel-blade.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have produced an exceedingly strong and at the same time light -weight shovel, for it is obvious that the sheet metal 7 can be very thin and that the wooden, bars and the side wires will form a strong and rigid support for the sheet metal, and by bending over the edge portions in order to secure the sheet to the frame the edges will be stiffened and the blade will be rendered very strong and durable.

It is well known that in snow-shovels almost the entire wear comes upon the front edge of the shovel, and by providing the strip of hardened metal at the front edge and protecting the front end of the handle with the metal loop 13 this wear will be amply provided for, and it is obvious that when either the strip of hardened metal or the loop 13 becomes worn out they can be easily replaced.

Instead of using wires to connect the ends of the parallel wooden bars it is obvious that strips of wood might be employed with good results; but I prefer to use the wires, since they afford the necessary strength without being cumbersome or bulky.

It will be understood that changes in the form, iroportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invent ion.

Ilaving thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. Ina snow-shovel, a blade comprising a frame composed of a series of parallel wooden bars connected at their ends by side reds, and a metal sheet secured upon said frame, sub stantially as described.

2. In a snow-shovel, a blade comprising a frame composed of a series of parallel wooden bars connected at their ends by side rods, and a metal sheet having its edge portions folded over upon said bars and side rods, substantially as described.

3. In a snow-shovel, a blade comprising a frame composed of a series of parallel wooden bars connected at their ends by side bars, a metal sheet having its edge portions folded over upon said bars and side rods, and a strip of hardened metal secured to the front edge of the metal sheet, substantially as described.

4. In a snow-shovel, a blade comprising a frame composed of a series of parallel wooden bars connected at their ends by side rods, and a metal sheet secured upon the upper face of said frame, combined with a handle secured to the lower face of the frame substantially midway its width, and a metal loop fitted over the front edge of the blade and the front end of the handle and secured thereto, substantially as described.

5. In a snow-shovel, a blade comprising a frame composed of a series of parallel wooden bars connected at their ends by side rods, and a metal sheet secured upon the upper face of said frame, combined with a handle abutting at its front end against the rear edge of the front bar of the frame, and secured to the lower faces of the other bars, and a metal loop fitted over the front edge of the blade and the front end of the handle and secured thereto, substantially as described.

6. In a snow-shovel, the combination with the handle, of a U-shaped slide fitted upon the handle, a hand-grip frame ecceutrically pivoted between the arms of the slide, and a spring loosely fitted between the lower face of said frame and the upper face of the handle, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

7. In a snow-shovel, the combination with the handle, of a U-shaped slide fitted upon the handle, a hand-grip frame having a U- shaped portion ecceutrically pivoted between the arms of said slide, a spring loosely fitted between the said U-shaped part of the frame and the handle, said spring having a downwardly-curved portion to bite the handle when the handgrip frame is rocked rearwardly upon it, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. In a snow-shovel, the combination with the handle, of a U-shaped slide fitted upon the handle, a hand-grip frame having a U- shaped portion eocentrically pivoted between the arms of said slide, the arms of'saidslide and U-shaped part of the frame having slots in their rear edges adapted to register when the said frame is in a vertical position, a spring loosely fitted between the said U- shaped part of the frame and the handle, said spring comprising a horizontallydisposed portion to slide on the handle, and two spaced vertically-disposed loops between which the hand-grip frame is supported, and a pin secured in the rear vertical loop to engage in said slots when they register, substantially as described.

'In testimony that I claim the foregoing as [5 my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN GIFFORD.

Witnesses: 4

JOHN W. SPRATT, HENRY M. SNOWENBERG. 

